How to Catch Fish and Upgrade Poles for Rune Factory 3 Special on Nintendo Switch

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How to Catch Fish and Upgrade Poles

Guides

Where to Get Your First Fishing Pole

There are a few ways you can get a fishing pole:

Visit Barrett and accept his request, “I’m Looking For Something,” during which you need to find a book he has misplaced. You can find the book in the town’s church. Once you’ve returned it to him, he’ll reward you with a Cheap Pole.
Interact with the town’s Bulletin Board and accept the request, “Fishing Lessons from the Master,” then head over to Carmen. You’ll find her at Carlos’ Resort, where you’ll be handed a Cheap Pole and receive private fishing lessons.
Lastly, you can simply visit the blacksmith and purchase a Cheap Pole from Gaius or Raven. This is a good option if you’re impatient and have already completed a character request for the day. You can also craft one at the Forge, but you’ll be able to purchase a fishing pole long before you unlock the Forge.

How to Fish

Once you’ve obtained the fishing pole, you can head to any of the game’s fishing spots and begin fishing immediately:

Head to any body of water and look for fish shadows.
Press B to cast the line into the water, aiming near the fish.
When a fish starts to nibble at the bobber, it will make a noise. Don’t reel it in yet.
When the fish bites, it will pull at the pole, and a sound will play while the fish splash in the water. Press B to catch the fish.

Tips for Catching Fish

Focus on the tip of your fishing pole rather than the bobber because it’s easy to get fooled by the bobber’s dips as the fish bibbles at it.

There are various sizes of fish, which you can determine based on the size of their shadows. The largest fish are rare or special fish.

You may encounter rarer fish that are difficult to catch. These require precise timing to catch. Players must press B right as they bite (there is little leniency). If you don’t react quickly enough, the fish will get away. To increase your chance of snagging a rare catch, consider upgrading your fishing pole whenever you can.

Each fish has a specific location where it can be caught, and some may only spawn during particular seasons. You can speak to Carmen or Carlos at Carlos’ Resort to figure out which fish are in season.

How to Upgrade Your Fishing Pole

After purchasing a higher quality fishing pile, you can hold down B to charge your cast, which will send your line farther, meaning you can find more rare fish. You can also cast closer to fish shadows, meaning they won’t have to travel as far to potentially bite at your bobber.

There are five different fishing poles in the game, and each requires the player to reach a specific foraging skill before they can be crafted. You’ll need to unlock and build the Forge before you can upgrade anything. You can craft each fishing pole by using the previous fishing pole and a few collectible materials.

Here’s what you’ll need to craft each one:

Cheap Pole